Judge won’t halt medical pot crackdown

San Diego  A federal judge turned down a request from medical marijuana advocates that sought to halt a government crackdown against dispensaries and collectives.

The six-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego rejected a request for an injunction against the government from a collection of cooperatives and patients in San Diego County. Among the plaintiffs is Briana Bilbray, daughter of Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray of San Diego.

Sabraw’s decision, issued Tuesday, largely followed a Nov. 18 ruling he made that rejected a request for a temporary restraining order. In this ruling, he addressed two new arguments — that the government was engaging in selective prosecution by only going after medical marijuana outlets in California, and that the use of the drug for medical purposes has become a protected right.

He rejected both, concluding there was evidence the government was prosecuting some dispensaries in other states such as Colorado. He also said that the use of marijuana for medical purposes remains illegal in 34 states and has not become a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The ruling does not end the suit. The government is now expected to file a new motion to dismiss the case entirely, said Matthew Kumin, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

Kumin said the ruling was not a surprise because Sabraw had earlier rejected the restraining order request.

“We’re looking at a number of issues strategically and discussing what we’ll do next,” he said. “We are not at all disheartened by this. It’s the first part of a long process.”

He said that this case, and similar suits filed in the three other federal judicial districts in California, will likely end up before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

While medical marijuana is allowed under California law and is legal in 15 other states, it is not recognized under federal law. Marijuana use is still prohibited under federal law.

In October, the four U.S. attorneys in California announced they were cracking down on the proliferating number of dispensaries in the state. The prosecutors said that the outlets were using the medical marijuana law to illegally peddle the drug.

At the end of last month, almost two-thirds of dispensaries in San Diego had closed voluntarily, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.